Parting Gift
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: After Regina and Archie's relationship ends, she learns some news that will tie them together forever. Regina/Archie


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Once Upon A Time and never will. No copyright infringement intended.

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At first, when Regina started to feel a little bit nauseated, she brushed it off as the flu and cursed her luck. Henry had been sick with it during their weekend together, and she had been expecting to catch the illness from her son. She continued on with her day, despite repeated trips to the bathroom, and didn't think much of it. She brushed off the exhaustion that came with it as a side effect, since Henry had slept most of the first day away.

On day five of the "flu", Regina realized her period was late – not an uncommon occurrence since she was irregular – but still suspect in light of the exhaustion and nausea. She decided that denial was the best course of action and blamed it on the stress of ending her relationship with Archie about five weeks earlier. She had been trying her best to avoid him as much as possible, which wasn't easy in Storybrooke.

She was on her way to the pharmacy to find some medicine (and avoid the pregnancy tests) when she accidentally bumped into her former stepdaughter. Although they were getting along much better now, they had still had some issues and Regina glared at Snow. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry! I didn't mean to run into you. Are you okay? You don't look so good." Snow frowned as she noticed how pale Regina looked.

Regina would have rolled her eyes, but that required some energy she really didn't have. "I'm fine. Just a little sick and I was on my way to the pharmacy. Now go off and find your husband and daughter." She glared at her again and then stalked off towards her destination, a plan she regretted as soon as she stepped inside. She was so sick of this annoying lack of energy and all she wanted was for this flu to go away.

Avoiding the feminine hygiene section, she quickly grabbed some flu medication and went to go pay for her items. Something kept her from taking any when she got home, however, and Regina wasn't sure why. She wanted to feel better, but her instincts were telling her not to take anything for the flu. She cursed her luck and ended up falling asleep on her couch.

When Regina woke up that morning, she was feeling a whole lot better than she had in days and decided to make the trip to Granny's. She was suddenly starving and had a craving for a burger that wouldn't leave her alone. Regina didn't even care that it was nine in the morning – She wanted a burger _now_ and nothing was going to stand in her way. So she got in her car and drove to the diner, where she ordered her burger and some fries to go.

Regina was just about to get up and leave with her bag when she started to feel dizzy and before she knew it, the ground was rushing up to meet her. And then everything went black. She woke up in a hospital room. "Damn it." She felt stupid for not taking care of herself better, especially during this flu.

She was lost in thought when Whale came through the door. "Hello, Regina. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, but a lot better than I did before I passed out. Why did the flu cause me to faint like that? I've never been this sick before?" She ignored the little voice in her head that whispered she wasn't suffering from the flu.

He laughed nervously. "About that. We ran a blood test, and congratulations. You're pregnant!"

Regina had been suspecting it for a few days now, but to actually hear those words come out Whale's mouth was surreal. "Pregnant? Are you sure?" She had miscarried twice during her marriage to Leopold and they had been told that she would most likely never have a child. Then again, that had been fairy tale world, and this land was much different.

He nodded. "We can do an ultrasound to determine how far along you are. I'll just have a nurse bring one in and we can check on the baby." Whale couldn't help but wonder who had knocked up the evil queen since he hadn't heard that she was with anybody. Then again, he didn't really care about her personal life other than the fact that she had cursed everyone in town.

"Sure." Regina was trying to process the news because she still couldn't believe this was really happening. But what would Archie think? Their relationship was over with and she didn't want him to be with her because he felt obligated to be. She couldn't stand it if he was only with her again because of the baby.

A few minutes later, the ultrasound machine was turned on and the wand placed on Regina's stomach. She gasped at the grainy image on the screen. "That's your baby. You look to be about eight weeks along. Would you like to hear the heartbeat?"

At a loss for words, Regina could only nod. She sniffled when the baby's heartbeat began to echo loudly from the speakers. "Is it okay?"

"It looks perfectly healthy. Congratulations again. Do you one or more copies?"

"Two please." Regina's mind was swirling. She was going to be a mother again, something she had never expected to happen. How was Henry going to react? Archie? She was terrified that something was going to go wrong because nothing ever went right for her.

He nodded and printed out copies for her. "We're going to keep you overnight just for observation, but both you and the baby seem to be fine." Whale gave her a small smile and then walked out of the room.

Regina was slightly grateful that she could put off telling Archie for a little while. She was terrified of his reaction because what if he didn't want this with her? What if he didn't want to be a father at all?

She was interrupted in her thought processes by Snow forcefully opening up the door and walking in. "Are you okay?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I heard about what happened and nobody would tell me what was the matter. I was worried, so I decided to come in anyway. So what's wrong?" Snow stared her expectantly and waited for an answer.

Regina was going to tell the truth but decided to go for a lie. "Henry's sick as you know. I caught the flu from him."

Snow eyed her former stepmother suspiciously. "You're lying. Now I'm not going to leave here until you tell me what is really going on."

She sighed and decided that Snow would just find out eventually anyway. "Fine. If you must know, I'm pregnant." She smirked and waited for her reaction.

It didn't take long for that to happen. Snow's mouth dropped open. "You're pregnant? Wow. Definitely was not expecting that. And I'm right in assuming that Archie is the father?"

Regina nodded. "Yup, I got knocked up by someone who used to be a cricket. Happy now?"

"Well, I'm excited for you. So, why don't you call Archie and tell him to come in? I know he's worried about you." Snow really was happy for Regina and was giving her another chance for Henry's sake. She had been burned too many times by the woman to blindly trust her again.

"Not happening. I don't want to force him into anything just because we're having a child together. I won't do that to him."

Snow almost squealed, but managed to control herself. "You're in love with Archie, aren't you?"

"What? No! You're insane to ever be thinking that."

"You're the one who ended the relationship and you don't want to force him to be with you. Just tell him the truth and things will work out for you."

Regina snorted. "Nothing ever works out for me, Snow. And now you've checked on me, so you've done your duty and can go." She waved her away.

Snow wanted to stay a little while longer, but knew when she wasn't wanted and reluctantly left to return home to her family. Henry was panicking, but she managed to assure her grandson that Regina was okay and would be discharged from the hospital soon.

Regina was discharged the next morning and as soon as she got home, curled up on the couch in pajamas. She didn't do that very often, but she didn't have much energy to do too much of anything lately. The baby was sapping all her energy, something she didn't mind too much. She was growing a life inside her. It was surreal and exciting.

As she expected, the doorbell rang around noon, but she didn't get up to answer it. Regina wasn't surprised when Archie used his key and unlocked the door himself. "Are you alright, Regina? I was worried."

"I'm fine now. What are you doing here?"

"I told you I was worried." He sat down next to her on the couch.

"Well you don't have to be. Really, I'm fine. Just caught the flu that's been going around. She didn't think Archie was buying it, but she had to try.

"Regina, I know you. Is it bad?"

She sighed. "Depends on your point of view. And I want you to know that I don't expect anything from you. I can do this myself and you're not obligated to help me with anything."

"What is it?" He didn't expect the next words out of her mouth at all.

Regina took a deep breath before continuing. "We're having a baby. You knocked me up a few months ago. Just found out myself yesterday."

He laughed and swooped in for a kiss. "You and I are having a baby? Part of both of us is actually growing inside you right now. That's amazing."

"You're not upset?" That was actually one of her worst fears.

"Why would I be upset over this? Regina, I'm having a kid with the woman I love. There's nothing upsetting about that." And that was the honest truth.

"But I ended our relationship. I don't want you to be with me just because I'm knocked up. I'm not putting the little one and Henry through that just because you feel an obligation."

"We've talked about this before. I would gladly raise the baby with you as co-parents, but I want to be with you. You can't let your fears dictate your life."

Regina was pretty relieved to hear that and she felt a huge weight on her shoulders disappear. "I love you, too, but I was terrified of getting hurt or hurting you. It always happens with me, you know? I'm surprised Henry turned out as well as he did with me as his mother." It was one of the main reasons she had joint custody with the Charmings now.

"Well, I'll be here with you and we can figure this out together. Plus, you raised Henry by yourself for ten years. I'm pretty sure you can teach me all I need to know."

She laughed and grabbed his hand to squeeze it before leaning over to kiss him. "So we're having a baby together. Didn't expect that one did you?"

He shook his head. "I did not, but I'm fine with it. At least for now I am. I'll probably be panicking in a few days or so, but I'll be fine." Plus, he had several months to get used to this fatherhood thing and learn how to take care of a baby. At least Regina had ten years of experience. Archie beamed and put a hand on Regina's stomach, which as of right now, didn't show any evidence of the life she was carrying.

It would be a trying time for Regina and Archie, but as they long as they had each other (and Henry) to lean on, they would be fine. There were some speed bumps, but they were expected and handled relatively well.


End file.
